1. As the title says, it's only going to be used for internet browsing, maybe a little bit of media, and light gaming (Think Sims 2, Spore, Tetris, a few Need For Speed games).

2. My Price range for this build is approx. $200 to $250 tax included. I am in the midst of building an i7 setup (waiting for parts to arrive) and am short on cash. I'll be re-using parts, so it's all good.

3. I'll be buying from Canada, and Canada only. I will buy stuff/pick it up from NCIX (cos I can price-match and I don't have to pay shipping :biggrin:)

4. My Sister doesn't know a Hard Drive from a DVD drive, so no brand preference. A good price/performance ratio is an asset.

5. I am re-using the Case, a DVD-RW drive, PSU, my old 8600GT, and old 2GB DDR2-667. I may use the 4GB DDR2-800 I have now if I can't sell it.

6. I read threads like this, although all were not from here, and not very many, because most are $1200 to $1500+ builds, XD

7. Minimal to No OCing. If a new game comes out and I need a bit of a boost, I might, but like I said it's not imperative.

8. I'd like to be building this ASAP, but otherwise there is no particular time frame.

What do you guys think? Pretty good, no? I know it's a bit...old, but my sis won't know XD

chrisk

January 9, 2009 08:34 PM

I had an Asus M2N-E which could not deliver more than 1.95v to the Dimms, and I had 2.1v OCZ stuff that I had a devil of a time getting to work properly...I am not sure of that version of the "M2N" you have there has the same limitation but I would check. If it is the case and your 4GB kit needs 2.1 volts you might need to downclock it a bit to get it to work at a lower voltage. I would check just to be safe.

As for not letting your sister know its an older PC why not try to find some room for a brand new cheap case?

geokilla

January 9, 2009 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chriskwarren
(Post 136678)

I had an Asus M2N-E which could not deliver more than 1.95v to the Dimms, and I had 2.1v OCZ stuff that I had a devil of a time getting to work properly...I am not sure of that version of the "M2N" you have there has the same limitation but I would check. If it is the case and your 4GB kit needs 2.1 volts you might need to downclock it a bit to get it to work at a lower voltage. I would check just to be safe.

As for not letting your sister know its an older PC why not try to find some room for a brand new cheap case?

I'm still using an AMD setup for my sister as well lol.

Anyways, $200 to $250 is kinda hard, even if it is for your sister. Change the motherboard to an AMD 780 or 790 chipset, and get a AMD X2 5000+ instead of 6000+. Then just overclock it.

Throw in maybe $50 and get her the Antec Sonata III. Good PSU and case are very important.

If she's using Windows XP, 2GB will be enough. That's what I'm using for my rig and my sis' rig.

And I was in the exact same dilema before, and my sis and I had a fight on who'd get the current rig I'm using, and who'd get the AMD rig. Eventually, my mom came in and gave me the Intel rig, but only cus I was being like a bully, so I got a "free lecture" as well on why it was wrong and everything. Anyways, bottomline, tell her about it and make sure that she agrees to this.

ImmaPC

January 10, 2009 12:59 PM

Why would I get the Sonata III? For a 50W better PSU and maybe a bit more room?

Mind you, it might make it seem more...new...I guess. I don't need the PSU, can I get like a CM590 or something?

Geokilla, I told her I'll be upgrading her computer, and I told her what it's going to entail, but she doesn't care about brands or specs or anything, she just wants to play Spore easily XD.

New Setup:

Case: CM 590: $75
MB: ECS A780GM-A - $75
CPU: AMD 64 X2 5000+ - $65

Total (Tax Incl.) - $240.80

Wicked. Right in the price range, plus a better case, better board, but a slightly lesser CPU. Is it possible to OC the 5000+ to 3GHZ like on the 6000+, or no?

cluu1

January 10, 2009 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ImmaPC
(Post 136906)

Why would I get the Sonata III? For a 50W better PSU and maybe a bit more room?

Mind you, it might make it seem more...new...I guess. I don't need the PSU, can I get like a CM590 or something?

Geokilla, I told her I'll be upgrading her computer, and I told her what it's going to entail, but she doesn't care about brands or specs or anything, she just wants to play Spore easily XD.

New Setup:

Case: CM 590: $75
MB: ECS A780GM-A - $75
CPU: AMD 64 X2 5000+ - $65

Total (Tax Incl.) - $240.80

Wicked. Right in the price range, plus a better case, better board, but a slightly lesser CPU. Is it possible to OC the 5000+ to 3GHZ like on the 6000+, or no?

you don't needa harddrive anymore?

ImmaPC

January 10, 2009 08:31 PM

Ah! I forgot the HD! this IS harder than I thought for $200-250. Perhaps I'll just go a bit higher...

$240.80 + $56 = ~$300. I don't really need the HD, but she's going to be using it more and more for homework and games and stuff. I think I'll buy everything now, and then leave the HD for later